By ANGELA ATABO

The National Working Committee (NWC) of Labour party has approved the commencement of sale, submission of expression of interest and nomination forms for Edo election from Jan. 25 to Feb. 11, 2024.

This is contained in a communiqué sent by Mr Obiora Ifoh, LP National Publicity Secretary, on Wednesday in Abuja, after the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) meeting.

Ifoh said that LP has also exempted female aspirants from paying for expression of interest form only.

He said: “Arising from the meeting of the NWC of the Labour Party under the chairmanship of Julius Abure, the leadership of the party took a far reaching decision on the Edo election.

“This is with regards to the guidelines for the conduct of congress and primaries to elect candidates for the Edo gubernatorial election.

“They include: the NWC’s approval of sale of forms to all interested aspirants from the state who are Nigerians or resident in the state.

“NWC approved that the fees for expression of interest shall be five million naira only (N5,000.000.00) while the nomination form shall be twenty five million naira only (N25,000.000.00).

Ifoh added that the NWC approved indirect primary elections, wherein ward and local government congresses shall hold to elect the party’s flag bearers.

He said that the NWC also approved Feb. 14 for screening of aspirants; Feb. 22 for primary election and Feb. 23 for resolution of dispute or appeal arising from the primaries, if any.

The LP spokesman said that the NWC appreciated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which carried out its verification duty, and commended the leadership of the party for complying with INEC’s rules and regulations.

He said the NWC passed a vote of confidence on its National Chairman, Julius Abure, for effectively piloting the affairs of the party and giving it a proper direction.

“The NWC noted the milestone the party achieved in the recent general election where it won one governorship, seven Senate, 34 House of Representatives and numerous State House of Assembly seats.

It regretted that the number depleted after losing some seats through the courts while also hoping to gain more seats in the coming days through rerun elections.’’

Ifoh said that the NWC also pledged its loyalty to the party’s national leader and its 2023 presidential election candidate, Mr Peter Obi, for his commitment to the party, in spite of the electoral challenges. (NAN)

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